Ingot mold insert



May 24, 1932- w. M. c:Rc w'r|-n= R 1,859,355

INGOT MOLD INSERT Filed OQb. 25, 1929 I N VEA' TOR.

waffen WI. @www provision of means for Patented May 24, y1932 UNITED STATES WALTER M'. CROWTHER, 0F

INGOT MOLD INSERT Application filed 'October 25,

Broadly the object of my invention is the producing more perfect ingots.

In the manufacture of iron or steel, as an example, molten metal from the open hearth Yor other refining device is carried in a ladle and is poured therefrom into a series of ingot molds to form ingots. These ingot molds may be hollow structures of cast iron, six feet or more in height, and they rest upon ingot stools which close the bottoms thereof. Although the tap hole of the ladle is held as close to the mouth of the ingot mold during pouring as isv practicable, the molten metal has to fall a considerable distance,y and initially strikes the ingot stool with suicient' force to splatter over the cold interior :walls of the mold. The splattered metal chills instantly, forming hard nodules or splinters which, as the metal rises in the mold, become embedded in the sides of the growing ingot. They cause defects when the ingot is rolled, and most frequently must be removed before the rolling or blooming operation. An object of my invention is the provision of means for preventing the production of slivered ingots by eliminating or prevent-ing the initial splashing of the metal.

Again, the portions of the molten metal which iirst come in contact with the cold mold walls chill there, and form a hard shell within which the remaining metal may still be moltenor plastic. As the metal coolsfand contracts there are thus set up strains lin it.

' which produce internal fiaws and militate against the production ofv perfect rolled products. -When a square ingot is poured, the' outer shell is frequently still plastic venough when the strains appear to relievethem somewhat by deforming slightly. Thus ,hollow sided ingots are produced which may y'successfully be worked. In cylindrical ingots, however, the same opportunity for deformation inthe shell is not present, so that,

mmassusn the use of my invention entirely satisfactory cylindrical ingots may be produced.

Still other objects of my invention are the 1929. serial no. 402,427.

provision of means to accomplish the objects outlined hereinabove, which means will not delay the production ofingots and will not be cumbersome to handle or expensive to use.

These and other objects of my inventionwhich may be pointed out hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading this specification I accomplish by that certain construction and arrangement ofparts of which I shall now describe a preferred embodiment reference being made to the drawings which accompany this specification.

In the drawings which are semi-diagrammatic: c

Figure 1 is a cross section through an eX- emplary ingot mold fitted with my insert, and showing metal being poured therein.

Figure 2 is a horizontal cross section along the lines -a of Figure 1. g

In the practice of my invention, I employ an insert placed within the ingot mold and adapted Aboth to break the initial falling of the molten metal from the ladle and also to provide initial insulation for the ingot mold walls to delay the freezing in the metal.

I have shown in Figure 1 an ingot mold 1 resting uponl 'they ordinary in ot lstool 2. Molten metal is poured therein om a ladle 3 as will vbe readily understood by those skilled in the art. Although the insertvto which I use may take different forms without departing from the spirit of my invention.,v the preferred embodiment-preferred because while perfectly satisfactory in use, it is easy to handle and practically negligible in cost, is in the form of a heavy paperinsert indicated generally at 4. It may convenientvly be inthe form of a closed bag of such size in general. the production of cvlindrical-in-'open lower end of the ingot mold. It will gots has been highly unsatisfactory. Another object of my invention therefore is to provide means to delay somewhat the, initial freezing or chilling of the metal s o that more perfect ingots may be formed. Through preferably have sides 6 of such a size and conguration as will t reasonably closely the walls of the ingot 4mold 1 for a substantialY portion of their length. -The 'bag issealed with some air in it but` not su'icient to iill it completely, so that the top of the bag may be pushed down within the outer walls so as to form a re-entrant pocket 7. It will be under'- stood that the bags may be made and shipped flat either in the form of a cone or cut and pasted so as to form in situ the upstanding bag portion and the re-entrant ocket. It is most convenient to form it 1n pyramidal shape with a sealed bottom. In use, one of the bags will be partially inlatedand sealed at the smaller end. It may then be placed upon an ingot stool and the ingot mold lowered over it, or it may be inserted in the ingot molds from above. Thereupon with a pole or the like, a workman will ush the upper and' smaller closed end o the bag down inside the ingot mold. This will have the eiect of compressing the air in the sealed bag so as to expand the outer walls of it into contact. with the inner walls of the ingot mold, and will also have the eiiect of pushing the closed smaller end of thepyramid down intothe interior of the pyramidv to form the re-entrant pocket. It is advantageous to have the lower end of the pocket extend down within a comparatively short distance of the mold bottom for a reason which will hereinafter become apparent. Various other types of inserts ma be used. In the type shown, by reason o vthe fact that the insert is a sealed bag, air is entrapped in the interior of it asv at 8 and acts as a cushion as will hereinafter be explained. To utilize the cushioning eEect of entrapped air is advantageous because it allows me to use thinner materials for my insert and consequently to use my inventior more economically and conveniently. However, it would be possible to rely upon the natural stiffness or resiliency of the material employed so that the ba need f not be sealed. u

resiliency, a ba open, at the bottom may be' With a material of su cient employed; but 1t is better to have a covering of the material ofthe insert over the portion of-the lstool top which forms the ioor of the ingot mold. My ingot mold inserts may of Y hard floor ofthe ingot mold, strikes the lower course be madeof a variety of materials other than paper with though in'.l general w1th greater expense.

In use, 'the operation of my invention is as follows: A stream `of molten metal 9 as is the v usual practice, is allowed to run from `the ladle 3 into the ingot mold 1. When my insert is in place,y the metal instead of dropping a distance of say 8 feet andstriking the cold end of the re'entrant pocket 7 inmy insert.l

s The force of its descent isb'i'ken or cushioned by the effect of the' entrappedzair, and a quantity of themolten metal will accumulatein there-entrant pocket inthe very short space of timeA before the paper burns through. When the paper rloes burn through however,

'the metal is let out upon the ioor of the ingot mold from a distance above it which is comerfect satisfaction, al-

paratively short. Thus there will be practically no splash and the metal will be initially introduced quietly into vthe mold. This will explain the advantage of having the lower end of the re-entrant pocket comparatively near the bottom of the mold. No particular ldistance however, is necessary in the practice of my invention.

Even if the metal falling upon the ingot mold 4 should splash to some "extent, the s latters of metal instead of hitting the cold oor and walls of the'mold will 'hit the-outer l walls and bottom of my insert. The paper metal as` occurs irom time to time will strike 1 the paper walls of the insert until the pouring of the ingot is in general -more than half finished. As the pouring progresses however, the walls of the'ingot mold become heated su''icientl to minimize the danger of defects in theingot both from splattering and from too rapid chilling at the outer/sur aces. As has been pointed -out during the pouring, the paper walls of the insert act as insulators to delay the freezing of the .metal at the mold walls. l

It willbe understood that the actions thus described all occur very quickly. Thev molten metal of course ignites and consumes the insert so that no structure of itis leftin the.

final ingot. f f

Various modifications may be made 1n my invention withoutdeparting from the spiritl Having thus described my invention, what vof an`ingot mold, and a re-entr'ant yportion formingafpocket.= 'p

ingot mold comprising aresilient downwardly extending pocketv to 3. An insertffor an catch an initial quantity" of molte metal for an ingot mold comprising a sealed bag having portions adapted to con `tact .the walls and bottom of an ingot mold poured into themold, said pocketbeing dev its top.

structible to release said'metal after initially arresting it.

4.-. An insert for an ingot mold comprising a sealed bag of heavy paper having portions adapted to contact the bottom and interior walls of an ingot mold and serve as initial insulators therefor, and a portion adapted to form a re-entrant downwardly projecting pocket the lower end of which approaches the bottom of said insert.

5. An insert for an ingot mold comprisin a ba of ilexible, heat destructible materia said ag adapted to be sealed, and having one portion adapted to be thrust down into the remaining portions to form a reentrant pocket, the remaining portions of said bag being adapted to contact the floor and interior walls of an ingot mold.

6. An insert foran ingot mold comprising a substantially pyramidal bag of heavy paper,` theapex of the pyramid thrust downwardly into the interior of said bag to form a re-entrant pocket, said bag having suiicient entrapped air therein to serve as a resilient support for said re-entrant pocket to hold it above the bottom of said bag.

7. In an insert for an ingot mold, a structure comprising means whereby it is stationed a material distance up from the Hoor of the mold, to arrest the initial fall of the molten metal, said structure being adapted to disintegrate and deposit the arrested molten metal quietly upon the floor of the ingot mold.

8.' In an insert for an ingot mold, a destruotible structure comprising means wherebyV it is stationed a material distance up from the floor of themold, to arrest the initial fall of the molten metal into the mold.

. 9. In'an insert for an ingot mold, a destructible air-supported structure comprising means whereby it is stationed a material distance up from the floor of the mold, to arrest the initial fall of the molten metal into the mold.

10. In an insert for an ingot mold, a destructible structure confining air and having a part supported by the confined air, to arrest the1 (initial flow of the molten metal into the mo low destructible structure having a pocket in 12. In an insert for an ingot mold, a hollow shell with an inturned upwardly opening pocket in its top.

13. In an insert for an ingot mold, a hollow shell with an inturned upwardly opening pocket in its top, the sides of -said pocket converging downwardly from the upper edges of the pocket. 4 WALTER M. CROWTHER.

11. In an insert for an ingot mold, a hol- 

